Friends who ditch her. A pod of killer whales. A limping cruise ship. All reasons Iris finds herself stranded on a deserted island with the handsome Navy SEAL...

Iris McLaughlin was having a great time on the cruise until the Navy SEAL grabbed her and towed her into a lifeboat. Okay, so maybe "a great time" is a bit of an overstatement. Iris hadn't enjoyed being late to orientation, being the last one on the boat, or sharing a wall with the obnoxious Navy SEAL who has a staring problem.

But hey, at least that off-the-shoulder swimming suit her sister had said would work, actually worked.

When a pod of killer whales attacks the cruise ship, the captain calls for people to abandon the ship. Justin Brunner, retired Navy SEAL, tows Iris over the side of the boat without a second thought. In the morning light, they discover they're the only ones in a lifeboat and the cruise ship is long gone. Oh, and so are the whales.

So maybe Justin had acted a little quickly. He'd been trained to do just that, so she can't really blame him. Can she?

They eventually make their way to a tiny speck of an island in the huge Pacific Ocean, relying solely on Iris's hip pack of emergency supplies and Justin's strength, intelligence, and calm demeanor in a crisis. As they navigate the obstacles of food, shelter, and water on the island, a new player arrives: Their feelings for each other.

Justin feels like he's playing catch-up because of his possibly premature actions, and Iris is sure a man like him won't be interested once they get back to civilization. Will she risk her heart for the tattooed SEAL? Or will Justin have to fight as hard for her as he did in the Navy?